Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2008-09: Philippe Hudon skated in 24 games for Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut – scoring 8 goals with 12 assists. He was named to the All-New England West all-star team as a sophomore.

2009-10: Hudon scored 9 goals and 11 assists in 20 games for Choate Rosemary Hall – missing six games while he competed for Team Quebec at the 2017 U17 World Hockey Challenge. He represented Quebec at the 2010 U17 World Hockey Challenge. Choate defeated Berkshire to win the New England Prep School Large School championship. Hudon was selected by Victoriaville in the eighth round (137th overall) of the 2010 QMJHL Entry Draft despite indicating he would play college hockey at Cornell in 2011-12.

2010-11: Hudon scored 10 goals with 10 assists in 22 games in his third season at Choate Rosemary Hall. Ranked 74th amongst North American skaters in Central Scouting’s final rankings, Hudon was selected in the fifth round (145th overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft.

2011-12: Began the school year at Cornell but left school before the season started. He eventually joined the Victoriaville Tigres in the QMJHL – skating in 34 games. Playing in a lower line role, he scored 3 goals with 2 assists and was minus-three with 29 penalty minutes. The Tigres reached the playoffs, finishing second in the East Division, and Hudon was minus-two with 2 penalties in the four game series with Baie-Comeau.

2012-13: Hudon skated for Victoriaville in his second season in the QMJHL. In 65 regular season games he scored 15 goals with 20 assists and was -1 with 63 penalty minutes. He scored seven goals on the Tigres power play. Victoriaville finished fourth in the East Division and reached the second round in the playoffs. Hudon scored 6 goals with 1 assist and was +1 with 6 penalty minutes in nine playoff games.

Talent Analysis

A big, strong winger who models his game after Boston’s Milan Lucic, Hudon is also a very intelligent person and a cerebral talent. He plays a physical, positionally sound, responsible game.

Future

A return to the QMJHL was met with moderate success for Hudon, who recorded 31 points for the Victoriaville Tigres in 2013-14. Detroit retains his rights through the end of the 2014-15 season, though it appears unlikely that they will sign him.

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Photo: Riley Sheahan’s two-way play has earned him a spot in Detroit’s bottom-six forwards for the 2014-15 season (courtesy of Scott Grau/Icon Sportswire)

It has been a gradual change, but the draft picks that have been laying in wait for the Detroit Red Wings have started to make their impact on the team’s NHL roster. As some graduate to the NHL others have filled their spots in the AHL, leaving Detroit’s system very top-heavy with prospects playing professionally.

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Photo: Calle Jarnkrok, playing in his first AHL season out of Sweden, joined a deep and talented pool of forwards developing with Detroit’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins (courtesy of Jeanine Leech/Icon SMI)

It has been a gradual change, but most things associated with the Detroit Red Wings work that way. In a salary-cap constrained hockey landscape, Detroit can no longer simply outspend other franchises; Detroit knew this eight seasons ago and began to stockpile talent through the NHL Draft.

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Photo: Saginaw Spirit goaltender Jake Paterson was one of three Detroit Red Wings junior prospects invited to the upcoming Team Canada selection camp for the WJC. (courtesy of Terry Wilson / OHL Images)

The Detroit Red Wings have a great deal of prospect depth in their organization, but the vast majority of that depth is currently at the professional level. While many of Detroit’s top tier prospects are playing for either the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins or the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye, there are still many prospects plying their trade at the junior level.

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Photo: Swedish forward Calle Jarnkrok, currently playing with Brynas in the SEL, is the cream of the crop at center for the Detroit Red Wings prospect pool. (courtesy of Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

A paradigm shift occurred for the Detroit Red Wings after the 2004-05 NHL lockout. Gone were the days where Detroit would readily hand out early-round draft picks in exchange for veteran NHL talent. Instead, Detroit decided that they would need to hold on to their draft choices in order to build a prospect pool with skill and size that would help them compete in the new-look NHL.